Christine Caine

Honestly, I'm having a little trouble putting into words the experience that I had last night. My friend Nicholle and I went to the Little Rock Campus to see Christine Caine from Hillsong Church. Always a great speaker, I was excited about what nugget of wisdom she would be doling out in her "Awesomely laid back Australian way". Even so, the full impact of much of what she had to say was surprising.

I don't know if its because of my history, or because I am usually a champion of the underdog, but when she spoke about her newest outreach project The A21 Campaign, my outrage was so strong that a fever LITERALLY spread over my entire body! I wish I had been brave enough to go up and talk to her.

Fear and the Sweater

Today has been a strange day. A day of thinking and wondering...a day of questions and reflection...a day where I'm LOOKING for something. These kind of days are both awesome, and trying. Awesome if you are given some wisdom, and dismally trying if you don't get any.

I've been thinking about fear the last few days... especially today. Fear about the plans that God has for you, fear about what others may think of those plans, fear about having no plan at all, or WORSE... following your own plan when its SO obvious that its yours instead of His.

I would say that my fear falls into the second category. I think that's true of a lot of
Christians. Sometimes we argue ourselves out of what God's told us to do just because the dream is SO large and SO unrealistic, that we hide in uncertainty without ever using our gifts as effectively as we could. You hide your passion and dole out just a tad at a time to keep from revealing the unabridged version to those around you...even people that you trust with many other things.

Sometimes the fear of appearing prideful makes us cowardly.

I don't think its prideful to speak with authority what God tells YOU to say. It's not prideful to be given a gift that is better expressed in a group setting. It's not prideful to be bubbling over with excitement to tell someone the latest bit of wisdom you've been given. In fact, its prideful not to: That means we've allow ourselves to start believing that by reeling in our gifting, we've made the right decision. That decision isn't ours to make.

Life is strange. It's like someone giving you a sweater at Christmas and saying..."Thanks so much for this gift. I know you thought a lot of me to give it to me, and I think its' really great....but I'm not going to wear it out of the house. I just don't want anyone else to see it. I'm worried what they would think."

I wonder if He sits there shaking his head in bewilderment. I'm sure he does, but I don't think it ends there. I think he looks for someone else to send a sweater.

What a cool guy!

I like him. He has a realness about him that's refreshing to see in student ministry. I think I'll also give him a blog link on my totally groovy list of awesomely cool blogs to read.

www.jasoncurry.org

Stop for Pedestrians in Crosswalk

I'm sure I've seen these signs a thousand times over, but when I saw it this morning, God jumped on it as an opportunity to share with me something that I think affects anyone that has ever been in ministry.

This is the warning sign that I wish all Christians wore around their necks as reminders. How many times in the past have I known of a hurt, or of someone in need of encouragement, but let my own life and trials keep me from "stopping" for them. Oh I might slow down a little, I might even give them a brief pause long enough to hear that there is a problem, but then...its right back up to mock speed without really stopping long enough to give any life to the situation. The sad truth of the matter is, it's an inconvenience to my life at the time. Oh... I know. We would all like to believe that we've never gotten into that pattern in leadership, but I don't think many of us can honestly say we've never been there, or never left someone in need behind shivering in our wake.

It's time to take inventory and realize its a problem, admit past defeat, and then try to have it happen less. That's the bright lining! Its a problem that can be fixed by being more concerned about listening for discernment, then with the birthday party that we have to be at that afternoon. If we want to be Christlike in our leadership, then we have to realize that what he's called us to do is more than a pause...more than a yield and a "I'll be praying for you". It's a STOP: A complete cessation of motion until the hazard is avoided or diverted.

That's what kind of leader I want to be: One that takes enough time to take care of 'pedestrians' in their 'crosswalk'. Not pausing just long enough to feel like I've made a difference, but STOPPING long enough to KNOW I've made one.